EE400SC

Enhance Education of 400 School Students in India

The problem

Despite a glorious past and the present potentiality, Birbhum ranks among
the 250 most backward Districts (out of 640) in India. Murarai II Community
Development Block is one of the most backward Block with a high
percentage of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Muslim population.
Most of them belong to labour class. The able bodied male and female
members in a family go out for labour work in the morning and cannot take
care of the children. Moreover, they are more interested to engage their
children either in household activities or supplementary income of the family.
Further the teachers in the rural schools often take leave and do not take
much care of the students for the preparations of their lessons. Naturally the
children from the primary stage remain dropouts and become either
household servant or child labour.

Solution

This project will motivate the students to be attracted to education and to
motivate their parents not to make their children house servant and child
labour instead they must send their children to school. Unless the students
find interest in study and get proper nutritional supplement they cannot be
attracted to school curriculum. Keeping in view of these points this project will
facilitate the beneficiaries ( the primary class students) with all round
development through proper education, knowledge and skill to make them
adopt high quality education. For this it will adopt modern methodology of
imparting education to the primary school village students.. It will provide
them text book, note book, slate, pencil, pen shoes etc. The schooling
centres will be made attractive to the students with all sorts of modern
teaching paraphernalia. This project will provide them nutritious tiffin and
educate them in extra curriculum activities like song, dance, games etc. for
the all-round development of the students This project will support to enroll
them in regular school through non-formal education or coaching in schooling
centres.. It will also provide medical support to the students. This project
will provide training to the teachers for quality education. This project will
ultimately make the primary School students fit for higher classes and imbibe
in them the qualities like team spirit, tolerance, flexibility which in turn
enriches them in building their character.

Outcome

The trained teachers’ care and their direct & personal involvement will bring
lasting effect on mobilizing material and human support for proper education.
The knowledge they will gain along with proper nutritional support will help
them to become self sufficient and confident so as to prepare them for higher
classes and to help themselves and the society. Being attracted in extra
curriculum activities they will adopt qualities like team spirit, tolerance,
flexibility which in turn enriches them in building their character.

Proposed Requirement and Budget

Background:

Despite overall growth the poverty has continued to pervade the rural
Birbhum. Most children of these disadvantaged people of rural Birbhum can
only afford to government school. These government schools , which are
lacking basic facilities, facing teacher shortages, having unmotivated or
frequently absent teachers and a pedagogy heavily focused on exams rather
than learning. As a result the students do not find inteferest in education and
opt for drop out. The parents take this chance to engage them for income
supplement. Most of the children come from families where both parents are
daily wage earners, who leave for work early in the morning. The only meal
they cook is dinner, a portion of which is kept aside for the children as
breakfast and lunch as well. In the absence of any vegetables, fruit or
proteins, the nutritional content of their food is very poor. This project
proposed to address these issues, namely, children’s
Health, motivating the children to education through joyful learning and
motivating parents to send their child to school.

Schooling Centres

This project proposes to open 10 Schooling Centres in the rural areas of the
Block Murarai I in the district of Birbhum. The proposed areas of the 10
Schooling Centres are Dadpur, Guskara, Kestara, Ratanpur, Panchgachia,
Parkandi, Sabaypur, Ramchandrapur, Bansloi and Kalpokhra for providing
Joyful learning, providing one tasty and nutritious meal to these kids primary
lever, preparing them mentally and physically fit through extra curriculum
activity like Yoga, games music etc. to continue education and prepare for
higher classes. 40 students will be admitted in each centre. The class rooms
will be spacious, and attractive with modern learning equipments. There will
be two teachers, one contingent staff, one chowkidar and one awareness
coordinator in each centre. Besides there will be one Field Office at Suri, the
district headquarters to conduct and monitor the whole programme having
link with head office in Kolkata. There is a strong focus is on recruiting the
right teachers, training them well and keeping them motivated. The holistic
development of the child, through sports, yoga, arts and crafts, health and
environmental education not only make school more interesting for children,
but also offer essential elements for the all-round development of the child.

Objective

To take education beyond literacy and rudimentary skills through a
holistic approach

To strive to make children fluent in English and adept in computer skills

To provide a nurturing, child-friendly environment, helping children
learn in a joyful manner

To promote education for girls

To increase educational awareness in rural communities while
preserving local identities and culture

To reach out to children absent from school and provide, social
inclusion, reduced student /teacher ratios and access to sanitation.

All round development of the child.

Enriching the curriculum to provide for overall development of children
instead of the textbook centric method of education,

Building-up a child’s knowledge, potential and talent.

Development of physical and mental abilities of a child to the fullest

Learning through activities, discovery and exploration in a child-friendly
and child-centered manner.

Creating an environment where children are free of fear, trauma and
anxiety and teaching children to express their views freely.

Comprehensive, continuous evaluation of a child’s understanding and
knowledge and ability to apply them.

making examinations more flexible and integrated into classroom
schedules

connecting knowledge to the reality of students’ lives outside the
school

maintaining a close link with government school

other educational aids, including digital content, are used extensively

Slow learners are given extra attention by experienced teachers

Children learn in a stress-free environment. Discipline is maintained
without physical punishment or harsh words but through positive
reinforcement

Basic hygiene is taught by the teachers. This may include learning to
brush their teeth, keep themselves neat and clean and how to use a
toilet

Methods

MACHRD will provide the following major inputs for Schooling Centres:

Hiring proper teachers to reduce the student-teacher ratio

hiring teachers for special instruction to integrate slow learners into the
regular classes

adoption of a English language program

adding hitherto neglected aspects like sports, yoga, music and
healthcare

hiring staff for cleaning and maintenance of school and providing
cleaning materials

Teacher Training Programme

The Teachers who will be appointed for this project for teaching in the
Schooling Centres will be trained in:

How to teach and maintain discipline without corporeal punishment,
harsh words or humiliating the child.

How to use positive reinforcements and rewards, to motivate the kids.

How to use learning materials effectively, how to observe and gauge
the level of understanding of the kids in the class, how to ensure kids
are participating in the class and not drifting off

How to conduct assessments to gauge the level of the kids, observe
improvements on various skills which are monitored every month.

Subject specific related training in English and Bengali.

The initial training is for 10 days and is followed by 2 other trainings within a
year for 3 days duration each, where there is a reinforcement of the initial
training and addressing of practical difficulties faced by the teachers, as well
as training on usage of learning materials.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The progress of the children will be periodically monitored through tests and
worksheets designed and administered to test understanding and progress
made. The children are graded based on their performance in these tests.
Worksheets are administered at the conclusion of each major topic or
concept, while the tests are conducted every 3 months. The School
Coordinator will monitor the operation of the program of all these Schooling
centres on an ongoing basis. The School Coordinator will visit each school at
least once a week, observe the teachers and guide them/provide feedback
on the teaching methods, use of teaching aids, etc. They also ensure the
regular attendance of the teachers as well as interact with the teachers to
ensure proper coordination and support wherever required. The School
Coordinator will report to Secretary every time through Information
Management Operator. The extra curriculum coordinator will monitor the
extra curriculum activities in the manner the School coordinator do.The
Information Management Operator will prepare all the reports. In addition, the
Secretary will makes surprise visits to the schools and also gets direct
feedback from the school teachers. Team of the Coordinators will design the
worksheets, tests, etc. as well as identifies the classroom teaching aids
needed to support the teachers and children. This team also designs the
training programs for the teachers and supervisors and conducts the same.

Total Budge

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